Night Moves
The Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn is rightly protective of its famous zombie cocktail. Only two are allowed per customer, owing to the concoction’s staggeringly potent effects. It’s made up of four different rums, apricot brandy and Parisian absinthe, before grapefruit, lime and pineapple juices, cinnamon syrup, falernum, bitters and grenadine are added to mercifully dilute the spirits. It is a delicious beast of a drink, as I discovered to my downfall the first time I tried it. Billy Connolly’s famous quip that “you actually get drunk from the bottom up” remains incredibly apt.
Of course, there’s more to the Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn than that one cocktail, but if you’re there you have to give it a go. The bar’s sister venue, The Pacific, along Dumbarton Road, ploughs a similar furrow. It’s all Caribbean kitsch and blissful, tropical vibes – a welcome alternative to the area’s otherwise generic pubs and bars. Bamboo fixtures and Hawaiian shirt-wearing bartenders give both venues a suitably natty surf bar atmosphere, while the tunes range from ‘50s rockabilly to soul and disco.
The Inn also plays host to the Glasgow Rum Club, which attracts a small number of spirited aficionados for monthly tastings and talks. Just last week, the UK’s brand ambassador for Bacardi (other, much tastier, rums are available, of course), Metinee Kongsrivilai, came along and delved deep into the famous distiller’s history and production. Whether it’s for education or entertainment purposes, it’s impossible to come to the Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn and fail to have a rum old time.
The Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn
Q: What’s your idea of paradise?
1. Nicola Prosser, 24, Uddingston
Favourite Club? Nice N Sleazy
Favourite Bar? Stereo
Favourite DJ? Illyus & Barrientos
Favourite Band? Future Islands
First Club? Buff Club
What You Drinking? Gin & Tonic
Describe Your Dancing? Lanky
2. Lucy Dalton, 24, Paisley, “On top of a mountain in winter”
Cesar Bustos, 26, Kelvindale, “Plenty of Corona”
3. Stuart Kerr, 23, Helensburgh, “Beaches and cocktails”
Dougie Young, 23, Partick, “Hawaii North Shore”
4. Jonny Morrison, 24, Yorkhill, “Anywhere but a tiki bar”
Scott Stanley, 20, Larbert, “Alone with games consoles”
5. Lee Bain, 24, South Side, “Anywhere with Lucy”
Lucy Dunedas, 19, Wishaw, “Happiness”
6. Siobhan Brown, 19, Glasgow, “On a beach with champagne”
Beth Macdonald, 25, Glasgow, “Abseiling over St Luc”
7. Rachel Flynn, 22, Paisley, “A million miles from an office”
Paul Doherty, 26, Paisley, “A pool full of girls”
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